As far as our finances go, my husband works 2 jobs because we are trying to put money back as a safety net.

Depending if you purchased a note or created a note the influencing factors are different.Working with someone that understands your goals and risk tolerance is essential.

In the mean time, in our area we just ask the building department for a "safety check".

All of that said, I am not opposed to looking elsewhere but that is what has caught my attention so far.I am trying to keep returns high and risk low [I know that's what everyone wants,] but I would prefer stability and safety for my first investment as I am learning the ropes.Any thoughts on other markets I might consider?

The 15% is definitely designed to have some safety factor in it.

Essentially the folks who review the rolls of the county.

An example could be to use the applicant's information on your form to (via PHP POST form processing) format a background query to the state's department of public safety to see if they do indeed have a criminal conviction in their history.

Does this mean that within a few years, pet restrictions will essentially disappear from leases, because there will be this loophole that makes them effectively unenforceable?  

Safety of hillside houses is always a concern to me, let alone those built on stilts.

If there were a total loss on Day 1 of the property, I would essentially be cut out a check for 171,000 (minus my deductible), even if I did not plan to rebuild, because there would be no depreciation.